


The Lines of Your Hands

by GetDark



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Porn With Plot, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:15:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29977239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GetDark/pseuds/GetDark
Summary: It starts with a hook-up; it's something ephemeral that Sebastian believes he can leave in the past.Only, two years later, Sebastian realizes he recognizes the new farmer that moved into the Pelican Town.
Relationships: Sebastian (Stardew Valley)/Original Female Character(s), Sebastian/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> This is obviously a little different from what I usually post around here, but I'm really into what I've started. Hopefully y'all get into it, too, and stick around for the ride.

Contrary to what Sam had told him, the electro-pop blaring from the speakers didn’t raise Sebastian’s mood any more than the coolers sitting in a bucket of melted ice on the kitchen table. The “get-together,” which Sam had coaxed him into, consisted of more people than the apartment could account for. Sam had promised that the place would mellow out as the night went on, but Sebastian was sure there were more people filling in than there had been when everyone was sober.

Sebastian had been lingering in a corner of the kitchen for the past couples hours, killing time on his phone. It was quieter there, if only marginally, with less people standing around. A couple people had approached him as they passed by to grab drinks, but it was in those moments that Sebastian truly felt his social skills fall flat. He’d gotten into the habit of offering a small nod before returning to the video on his phone; a clear and gentle  _ I’d rather be left alone. _

He didn’t even know where Sam and Abigail had gone off to. His guess was that they were probably somewhere within the mass of bodies writhing atop the make-shift dance floor in the living room, probably enjoying themselves. In high school, the two of them had always been the ones to take advantage of free drinks, wherever they may come, while Sebastian choked down a too-sweet vodka cooler he wasn’t really interested in. Nothing much had changed, other than Sebastian dropped any pretenses about enjoying alcohol. It was easier to just assign himself the role of designated driver. It worked out considering their trips into the city usually resulted in Sebastian driving back to town with Abigail and Sam drunk and sleeping in the back of his mother’s truck. 

He needed a smoke.

The apartment wasn’t very large, and it didn’t take Sebastian long to find the bedroom. It was only after he shut the door behind him did he notice the two bodies moving beneath the sheets, high-pitched moans nearly drowned out by the music.

“Oh,” Sebastian said, awkwardly. “Sorry.” They didn’t seem to notice him as he scurried past the bed to the sliding balcony door, pulling it open before shutting it behind him.

The night air felt cool on his face, and it wasn’t until he inhaled deeply did he notice how stuffy the apartment had gotten. He exhaled softly, leaning forward to rest his arms on the balcony railing. From here, he was sure he could see the entire city, though he knew that couldn’t actually be true since they were only on the 24th floor of the building. But the illuminated streets, the flickering headlights of passing cars, and the storefronts with their neon pink  _ open _ signs was a lightshow he couldn’t catch back at Pelican Town.

Pressing his cigarette between his lips, he patted down the front of his jacket, looking for his lighter.

“Shit,” he sighed softly.

“Need a light?” came a voice behind him. He hadn’t noticed anyone else when he left the bedroom, and the voice nearly made him jump.

He turned to find a young woman behind him. Her hair was midnight black, chopped short and shaggy; it looked like she had taken a pair of kitchen scissors to it herself. She was shorter than Sebastian, the top of her head coming up to his shoulders, but she couldn’t have been much younger than him. It was only when a pair of sharp, dark eyes blinked at him in question did he realize she was holding out a plastic  _ Bic _ lighter.

“Oh,” Sebastian said stupidly. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” the woman said. “I mean, considering you’re intruding on my hiding spot and all.”

“Oh,” Sebastian said again after he had lit his cigarette. “I didn’t realize anyone else was out here. Sorry.”

“I’ll forgive you if you give me one of those.” She jerked her chin towards the cigarette wedged between Sebastian’s lips.

Sebastian looked at her for a moment, face unreadable, before he took the cigarette and offered it to her. She quirked a dark brow before taking it. Watching his face, she took a long drag and handed it back to him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

“Stingy?” she asked.

“No, I uh, this is just my last one,” he admitted, returning to lean forward against the railing. He couldn’t quite place it, but he recognized her from somewhere.

“Oh, generous,” she cooed, “alright, I’ll let you stay on my balcony.”

“You own the place?”

“No, but the owner is my ex-roommate. This is my hiding spot.”

“Ex-roommate?” Sebastian repeated. “If you’re ex-roommates, why’re you here?”

She shrugged, shivering lightly. She was only in a black tank top that looked like it might’ve been a band t-shirt once upon a time, if the tattered sleeves and logo were anything to go by; perhaps it’d met the same kitchen scissored fate as her hair.

“It’s Friday night and I should have a social life,” she explained. “Anyways, that’s what she keeps telling me. I’m trying to make an effort here.” Another shrug. “She’d probably guilt me about it if I didn’t show. Why’re  _ you _ here, if you’re just gonna hide on the balcony?”

“Same reason, I guess,” Sebastian answered truthfully. “Got dragged here by my friends. Uh, designated driver.”

“Oh, you’re the boring one,” she drawled knowingly with a slow nod.

Sebastian was glaring before he could stop himself.

“What’s that mean?”

“It’s a joke!” she giggled. “I’m also the designated driver. I mean, I would be if I could drive.”

“I see,” Sebastian deadpanned. He handed her the cigarette anyway when she reached for it. He realized she was examining his face, maybe for the same reason he kept glancing at her. Trying to place her. Pinpoint her button nose and slight head tilt in the rapids of his memories.

“Did you go to Pine Creek?” she finally asked, dropping her arms over the railing next to him. She pointed the cigarette into the distance. “High school over that way. Almost in the outskirts.”

“No. I’m not from around here.”

“Oh.” She handed the cigarette back to him. She was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “Wanna get out of here?”

The question was so sudden, Sebastian wasn’t quite sure how to answer. He stood there with his mouth slightly agape.

“I mean since we’re both just gonna stand here. Designated drivers and stuff. We may as well do something fun…” she was speaking quickly. Sebastian realized belatedly that he’d made her self conscious.

“Yeah, alright,” he finally said. He handed her the cigarette to take the last drag and she smiled at him before stubbing it against the brick wall behind her.

They passed by the two on the bed again, the woman stopping to snag a black hoodie from the end of the bed. She held it to her chest as they left the room.

“Should you let your friends know you’re leaving?” the woman yelled over the sugary pop song that made Sebastian feel as if his skull was rotting. She was tugging him through the crowd, fingers looped around his wrist.

“They’re fine,” he yelled back. “I’ll shoot them a text.”

As Sebastian watched the woman tug the black hoodie she’d snagged over her head, he thought he might’ve seen Abigail somewhere in the crowd of people. Most times, her hair acted well enough as a beacon, but the living room was too dark and too packed. He gathered Sam was probably a lost cause, but he and Abigail were pretty good about looking out for each other while Sebastian took refuge from the noise and the bodies.

When he and the woman reached the street, Sebastian checked his phone.  _ 11:39pm.  _ It was a lot later than he thought it was; he’d wasted most of his night standing in the corner of the kitchen. Better yet, his phone was nearly dead.

“You good?” the woman asked. She was already heading down one direction of the street, seemingly ready to leave Sebastian behind if she hadn’t looked back and stopped.

“I’m fine,” Sebastian said. “Where are we going?”

“My place. I’m hungry.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You hungry?”

“I guess I could eat.”

“Cool.”

* * *

Her apartment was small but cozy. It was clear that she lived alone, and only really needed just enough space for herself and maybe a guest. A neglected house plant greeted them at the corner of the doorway. Various band posters were haphazardly taped to the walls of the living room; most of them were bands Sebastian used to like in high school but mostly forgot about. Some newly washed clothes were folded and forgotten on the couch. On the coffee table was an open sketchbook, ripped out pages littering the floor. It was the kind of place Sebastian imagined himself moving into after he finally left Pelican Town.

At least her apartment had windows, unlike his basement. 

“Sorry ‘bout the mess,” she said, kicking off her black boots and nudging them into the corner. “I clean often, I swear.”

“Sure,” Sebastian offered, tugging off his converse and leaving them next to her boots.

“You can make yourself comfy if you want,” she said, heading into the tiny kitchen connected to the living room. “I’m not that great at cooking, but everything tastes good at midnight, right?”

“I probably wouldn’t be much help,” Sebastian admitted. He sat himself next to the folded laundry, careful not to stomp on the pages on the floor. “I don’t cook.”

“Me neither,” she snorted a laugh. At the very least, she found a box of mac and cheese that would be easy enough to prepare. “Did you text your friends? I mean, in case I end up being a murderer and I poison our food.”

“You’re a pretty shit murderer if you’re telling me your plan,” Sebastian noted. He picked up one of the sketches to examine it. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at, but the pen strokes consisted of intricate lines swirling and pulling towards the center. A flower, maybe.

“I’m giving you a headstart,” she shot back with a smile. While the pot of water was boiling, she came to sit down next to him, shoving the laundry off to the corner. “Are you sure you didn’t go to Pine Creek? You look super familiar.”

“No,” Sebastian said. “I’ve lived in the same place my entire life.”

“And where’s that?”

Sebastian looked off to the side, eyes fixed to the dying houseplant in the corner. “You’ve probably never heard of it.”

“Hm,” she hummed. “Strange.” A moment passed between them. She glanced up at him, tilting her head. “You look like the kind of guy I would’ve been all over in high school.”

Sebastian froze for a moment. He wondered if she’d been making advances the whole time and he hadn’t picked up on them. It’d happen to him before; someone would be into him and he wouldn’t clue into it until they made it explicitly obvious. Or until Sam and Abigail pointed it out to him.

She seemed to take his silence as judgement, pink spreading across her cheeks as she looked down to her hands folded atop her lap.

“Sorry, that was kind of a weird thing to say, huh?” she laughed in painful awkwardness. “I mean, especially since high school is such old news…”

Sebastian wasn’t the type to take someone home. Or better yet, he wasn’t the type to be taken home. He didn’t even know her name. But it took him all of five seconds of shallow contemplation to decide that the woman next to him was cute and there was a first for everything. If she was offering.

He reached over to rest his hand on her upper thigh, giving it a soft squeeze through her jeans. She gasped softly, resting her hand over his.

“You kind of suck at compliments,” Sebastian told her, though there was a slight smile on his face.

“Can I try again?” she asked. She was inching closer to his side and he could feel her warmth through his jacket.

“I guess. Doesn’t matter too much to me.” And it didn’t. She was cute, and the way her lips parted with a gasp as he reached between her thighs to press between her legs made him harder quicker than he anticipated, but he doubted he would ever see her again when they were finished with each other.

“I saw you before you came to my balcony,” the admission followed by a soft giggle. “I saw you brooding in the corner of the kitchen, y’know. Tried figuring out where I knew you from before I realized maybe I just wanted you in my bed.” Her hips rolled down against his hand, trying to help him rub her through the crotch of her jeans.

“Didn’t exactly make it to your bed,” Sebastian laughed softly. His heart was pounding in his chest as he tugged the hoodie off up and over her head, messing her hair into a fluffy halo. “Points for trying, I guess.”

Undressing was clumsy and hurried. She spent a couple moments trying to tug him out of his jeans as he tried to tug her tank top off before they realized they were working against each other. When she laughed at the way they’d ended up tangled up with one another, pink in the face, he couldn’t help but smile as he stood up. Dropping her arms, she let him tug her top off, her little black bra following. Her breasts were small but pert, big enough to fit into Sebastian’s palms as he ran his hands over her. His fingers lingered at her dark nipples, tugging at the silver bars impaling the hard flesh.

His jeans and briefs fell into a pile next to her folded laundry, and when he sat back down, he pulled her down with him. The weight of her in his lap was welcome as his warm hands ghosted up along her ribs, back to her breasts.

“I like this,” she murmured, tracing her fingers over his chest, over the ink she found. It was a greyscale willow, the somber boughs bending over one pectoral with the elegant lines of the trunk taking root along Sebastian’s ribs. “Pretty big tattoo to be hiding.”

“Thanks,” Sebastian said absently, too occupied with sucking a pierced nipple between his lips. She gasped softly, fingers threading into his hair; when she tugged, he moaned against her chest.

“Oh, are you gonna be loud?” she exhaled with a smile. “Good thing I live alone.”

Sebastian buried his face between her breasts, mostly to hide the way his face warmed at the comment. He’d always been loud in bed, something he was particularly self conscious about when his partners, sometimes in annoyance, pointed out. But she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she pulled his hair again just as she ground her panty clad cunt into his lap. Sebastian moaned again, head tilting back to expose the long line of his throat to her.

Sebastian found himself letting her take the reins as she rode his lap, her mouth sucking bruises into his throat. Tension that Sebastian hadn’t realized he’d been holding seeped out of him as he bent himself to her whims, more than comfortable with following her lead.

“Did you bring anything?” she asked when she pulled herself from his throat, lips pouty and red.

“Anything?” Sebastian repeated numbly.

“Condoms,” she supplied, a small smile on her lips. It took Sebastian a moment to register her response because  _ of course she meant condoms. _

“No,” Sebastian finally said. “I wasn’t really planning on anything happening when I left the house today.” The moment the admission left his lips, he realized how pathetic he must’ve sounded. He looked off to the side, unable to meet her eyes in fear of disappointment.

“Mm, that’s okay,” she hummed. “I think I might have some in my bedroom that might fit you.” She grasped between her thighs, taking his hard cock into her hand before giving him a quick stroke. Sebastian exhaled softly at the contact, willing himself not to thrust into her hand. “ _ Maybe. _ You’re a lot bigger than my last boyfriend.”

She was sliding off his lap before Sebastian realized what she was doing, her hand wrapping around his wrist to tug him along to her bedroom down the narrow hallway. Once in her bedroom, he was quickly deposited atop her bed as she went off to rummage through her drawers.

Her bedroom was just as cozy as the living room, though comparing it to his basement, it felt more like a walk-in closet. There was a small desk pushed against the wall below a window, where her laptop sat. Between the bed and the desk taking up most of the room, there wasn’t much else aside from her night table and a few comic books scattered around. Sebastian had half a mind to take a look at what she was reading. From where he was lying on his back, he noticed there were neon green glow-in-the-dark planets among a dusting of stars clinging to her ceiling.  _ Cute. _

“Oh, I think I found one,” she said after digging through her dresser. “Sorry ‘bout that.” She clambered up on the bed, sitting herself atop his thighs again. “You didn’t cool off, did you?”

Reaching for his cock, she placed the foil packet on Sebastian’s chest with her other hand. He meant to examine it, but she was already stroking him back to fullness, smiling softly at him as she worked. Moaning softly, he settled himself back against her pillows, shutting his eyes as he let himself enjoy the feeling of her hand. It’d been a while for him.

“Can I blow you?” she asked softly, bottom lip wedged between her teeth. Her eyes were fixed on the length of his cock, entranced by the way Sebastian twitched when she dug the soft pad of her thumb into the slit.

Sebastian nodded before realizing she wasn’t looking at him. “Yeah,” he said, “blow me.”

The damp head of his cock was between her lips before he could register that she’d dipped down, hand holding his hip. His hands flew into her hair, grasping gently at the choppy strands before he forced himself to let go.

“Sorry,” he groaned, trying to clutch at the blankets instead. She was just mouthing at him, her tongue prodding the thick head gently to get him wet.

“Mhm,” she offered before her hand took his, tugging it away from the blanket to place back atop her head. She took the head into her mouth as he dug his fingers back into her hair.

“Fuck,” Sebastian sighed after a languid suck, trying not to thrust his hips into her face. 

She was mostly focused on the tip, sucking softly and pulling off to lick him slowly before her mouth returned. In an attempt to get as much into her mouth as possible, she’d nearly gagged herself, a feeling that had Sebastian moaning into the back of his hand. When she figured she couldn’t take all of him, she brought her free hand to the base to stroke him.

“Yeah, that’s it, fuck,” Sebastian gasped. He groaned when he realized that the hand that had been holding his hip down had snuck itself between her legs, petting her through her panties.

He nearly came when those dark, sharp eyes fluttered open to make eye contact with him, just as she pulled him deep as her mouth would let him go.

“Come back up here,” Sebastian said, unsure of if it sounded more like a question than a request. But she pulled off with a slow, languid  _ suck _ , pressing a slow kiss to the underside of his cock before grinning at him.

“You’re blushing,” she pointed out with a soft laugh, climbing him to sit atop his thighs again.

“I’m not blushing,” Sebastian insisted. He was sure he was just flushed from how much he was sweating. Really.

“Yeah, okay,” she hummed, reaching for the foil packet that lay forgotten on the blanket. When she handed it to him, he sat up to carefully roll it down over his cock.

“Feels okay?” she asked, replacing his hand with hers as she gave him a tentative stroke.

“Feels fine,” he said.

Taking that as a sign to move along, she lifted herself above his thighs to tug off her panties, tossing them into the corner of her room. She stroked him again as she settled atop him, one hand on his shoulder to steady herself as the other one below her guided the head between her slick folds. He clutched her waist, silently watching her face for any discomfort.

“Ah,” she gasped softly, eyes fluttering shut as she felt the thick head trying to breach her. She hadn’t anticipated struggling to get him inside, but she found herself rolling her hips to try to coax him into her.

“You okay?” Sebastian asked softly, though his breathing had quickened as he felt her working atop him. He buried his face against her throat, sucking softly at the exposed skin as he felt her slowly open up for him.

“I’m okay,” she finally whispered, voice wavering at the feeling of being stretched so wide. The head had finally jostled its way into her, and the pressure against her opening was red hot, almost painful. Sebastian was panting softly against her neck, clutching her against him like she was a lifeline. She sank lower, crying out when she finally felt his thighs flushed against the back of her own.

“Give me a minute,” she asked, eyes watery and squeezed shut as she adjusted to the girth of him inside of her.

Sebastian was patient. He let his hands explore her body as she counted her exhales atop him, roaming over her chest, down the curve of her back, to the plush flesh of her hips, before travelling lower to cup her soft cheeks.

“Good?” Sebastian asked softly.

Instead of answering, she started with little warning, just a slight roll of her hips as her arms came up to drape over Sebastian’s shoulders. The sudden movement after inertia burned a line of desire along Sebastian’s cock and he cried out, squeezing her cheeks in surprise.

“Ah,” she gasped, smiling again as she rose. “Aha.”

Despite the slight road bump that came with Sebastian’s size, she rode hard. Sebastian quickly found himself bucking into her, trying to keep up with the unrelenting pace she set atop his lap. Her fingers were digging into his shoulders, attempting to keep some sort of balance as she bounced in his lap.

Sebastian couldn’t stifle his moans, trying to muffle himself against her skin to no avail. If he were a little more coherent, he would’ve noticed the pink teeth marks he had left against her chest in an attempt to silence himself. The nips at her chest made her cry out, surprised at the way the slight pain made her feel like she was melting for him.

He was more than she imagined him to be when the vague thought of him in her bed crossed her mind at the party. He was expressive, his face alone telling her if she did something that felt good; she liked the way his brows would crinkle in pleasure when she dropped her hips to take him in his entirety. The stuttered  _ o-oh, oh fuck _ that escaped his mouth when her hands left his shoulders to bury into his hair, tugging gently as they came chest to chest.

“You’re so pretty,” she gasped, ignoring the burn in her thighs. The comment forced him to lift his face up from her chest, his confusion nearly seeping through his pleasure. He might’ve made a comment if she hadn’t cupped his face in that moment, bringing him in to burn a kiss to his mouth.

The feeling was instantaneous; a javelin impaling the both of them as they sunk into the kiss. It felt  _ right _ , like the individual seconds of their life had been counting, one by one, to that exact moment. She was panting into his mouth as he reached up to hold the side of her face, pulling her in for another kiss. The thigh-quaking pleasure his cock was churning inside her was just background music to the satisfaction his mouth inflicted on her. She was sure he felt the same, with the way his lips chased hers.

It was the way Sebastian gently nipped at her bottom lip, kissing her like he didn’t need to breathe, that did her in. She cried out, rolling her hips hard as her body gripped and fluttered around the thick length of him. Holding him tight, she pushed her face into the side of his neck, panting as she felt his hips beginning to move, his hands coming up from her ass to hold her hips as he thrusted up into her.

“Close,” he whispered into her ear. As he leaned back, holding her in place, she fell against his chest, clinging to him as he pounded into her oversensitive body. “Fuck,  _ close.” _

Sebastian’s head fell back, his cries filling the room as he pushed hard into her, once, twice more, before he pulled her further up along his chest to pull out of her. His hand reached below her to tug the condom off, dropping it on the bed before frantically stroking himself. Lifting her hips, she ground the length of him between her wet folds before he came over his own hand, spurting over her cheeks with a strangled cry. When he began falling back into her bed, she grasped at the side of his face, pulling him into another kiss that made their lungs stutter in their chests.

They collapsed together and Sebastian wasn’t quite sure how long they laid there, quietly breathing in each other’s air. He wasn’t sure if the woman curled up against his side with her head resting on his shoulder was asleep or not, but he could feel the gentle rise and drop of her chest. He could hear his phone vibrating on the coffee table in the living room where he’d left it; he knew he should probably get up and check it —it was probably Sam or Abigail looking for him—but he was unwilling to move from where he was lying.

“I’m Dorian, by the way,” the woman,  _ Dorian _ , offered with a shy smile on her face. She was looking up at him, the eyeliner framing her eyes smudged and watery.

“Sebastian,” Sebastian offered in turn. His face was still flushed, hair slicked back with sweat. Dorian gave him a strange look but it was gone before he could begin dissecting it, fading into a soft smile.

“Alright,” she said, “Sebastian.” Tugging the end of the blanket beneath his back, she raised a dark brow in question before Sebastian rolled over. 

Instead of getting up to answer his phone, Sebastian found himself tugged beneath Dorian’s blankets.


	2. II

It was Sebastian’s cell phone vibrating beneath his pillow that woke him up. Considering the time he went to bed the night before, he knew it was well past the afternoon. Even for him, it was pretty late to be waking up. But he’d gotten really into the project he’d started, and it’d been a while since any of his interests had grabbed him by the throat like that.

Holding his phone up, he blinked blearily at the light shining in his face. It was moments like these when he actually appreciated not having any windows in his room.

**Did u see that moving truck the other day?**

The text was from Sam. Sebastian considered rolling over and shutting his eyes again, but he knew that would probably provoke his friend into showing up at his door. And the only thing worse than having to text someone back was having to speak to them in person.

**No. I havent been into town.**

**Someone moved into the farm**

**What farm?**

**The one we used to break in w abi in highschool**

**Ok.**

Sebastian rolled over and shut his eyes again, pulling his blankets back up to his chin. He had only started to doze off again before he was woken up by knocking at his door. He’d ignore it, but there was only one person who’d bother knocking at all.

“Yes?” he called from his bed, finally forcing himself to sit up. His hair was sticking to one side of his head, and he didn’t know if he craved a coffee or a shower more.

“Sebby,” his mother said as she pushed his door open, peeking in at him. “Are you awake?”

“I am now.”

“Oh, good.” She pushed into his room. “Could you do me a favour?”

“I guess.” He wondered if he’d have time to make that coffee first.

“I have a box of old clothes I’m giving to the farmer that just moved in,” she explained, “But I’ve got to run into town, and I won’t be able to drop it off to her today. Would you be able to do it for me?”

“Why do you need to give the farmer new clothes?” he asked.

“You should’ve seen her,” Robin sighed, her eyes softening. “The girl was ruining a nice pair of jeans trying to figure out how to till her crops.” She shook her head sadly. 

Wiping a hand over his face, Sebastian finally nodded.

“Thank you,” she called as she left his room. “You can take my truck, if you want.”

Sebastian probably could’ve left earlier, but he took his time in the shower before taking even more time drinking his coffee in the kitchen. It was a sad excuse for breakfast, but he was used to waiting until someone cooked to bother eating. There was another text from Sam.

**New farmer doesnt really look like a farmer**

**What is a farmer supposed to look like?**

**Old? A dude**

**Sam.**

**Wut**

**Girls cant be farmers?**

**Oh**

**Oh shit**

Sebastian laughed softly to himself as he dropped his empty mug into the sink to wash later. At least the drive to the farm wouldn’t take very long.

* * *

Sebastian didn’t know what he was expecting when he pulled up to the old farm. He wasn’t sure when the new farmer moved in, but the place still looked just as abandoned as it did when he used to wander into the plot of land with his friends when they were in high school. Weeds still littered the field, the place practically overrun with them. There was clearly an attempt to uproot a handful of them, if the small pile next to the path was anything to go by. The closer he got to the farmhouse, the less liveable it looked; he distinctly remembered Abigail insisting the place was haunted the last time they broke in together.

As he carried the box of old clothes up to the door, he had to remind himself to be careful of the hole in the porch that Sam had sprained his ankle on years ago.

Dropping the box, he knocked on the door and waited. The lights were off inside. He was pretty sure it’d be considered rude to just leave the box of clothes there. But before he convinced himself to turn around and try again later, the door opened.

“Sebastian?” 

When Sam had texted him that the farmer didn’t look like a  _ farmer _ , he didn’t know what he was expecting. But it wasn’t the woman he found leaning against the door.

“Dorian,” Sebastian exhaled after a pause.

She hadn’t changed much, aside from her black hair being longer, hanging past her shoulders and looking more evenly cut. He was sure the tattoo on her shoulder was new, but there was also the possibility that he just missed it during his short encounter with her _. _ She still framed those sharp eyes with a heavy line of black, a feature that often snuck up on his thoughts in the middle of particularly lonely nights.

The last time he had seen her, her lips were red from kissing him hard on the mouth in the lobby of her apartment building before he left to find Sam and Abigail.

Sebastian looked away when he realized he was staring.

“Sure as hell didn’t expect to see you here,” Dorian laughed.

“Feels like I’m the one who should be surprised,” Sebastian finally said. “You’re not the new farmer. Right?”

“No, I am,” she announced, looking particularly proud of herself. Despite the ruin she was standing in. “I moved in at the beginning of the week.”

“Oh.”

“ _ Oh _ ,” Dorian mirrored, tilting her head with a smile. She finally spotted the box next to Sebastian. “You’re Robin’s kid?”

Sebastian glanced down at the box and seemed to remember the whole reason why he drove down. “Yeah. I think she’s giving you her old clothes.”

“Sweet.” Dorian leaned harder against the door to swing it open wider. She was missing a shoe, Sebastian realized, her ankle sloppily bandaged with fresh gauze. “Could you bring it in? Hate to bother you, since you brought it all this way, but I fucked up my ankle this morning.”

“How’d you manage that?” Sebastian asked, lifting the box and following her into the living room as she hobbled across the room to the couch. Most of her belongings were evidently still packed up, with only a few of the moving boxes empty. The living room at least had a small couch and the coffee table he recognized from her apartment, although with less sketches littering the vicinity.

“Forgot there was a hole in the porch,” she sighed. “Robin is fixing it for me, though. She’s really sweet.”

“She just feels bad for you,” Sebastian admitted, setting the box down in front of her.

“Thank god. Someone’s gotta look after my sorry ass.” She pulled the top of the box open, finding it nearly bursting with old clothes, neatly folded and recently washed. Sebastian frowned.

“Hey,” he said, reaching down to lift the sweater sitting atop the pile. It didn’t fit him anymore and had probably been sitting at the bottom of his drawers for a while. But he still felt vaguely annoyed finding it here. “This is mine.”

“Oh, my bad,” Dorian said. “I didn’t think she’d be throwing her kid’s stuff in when she said she had clothes for me.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Sebastian said, still frowning down at the sweater. It was plain black, the arms too short for him now. He tossed it back atop the pile.

“Did you wanna look through and make sure she didn’t give me anything you wanted to keep?” Dorian offered. Her frown mirrored his.

“No,” Sebastian finally replied. “I’m sure it’s fine.” Now that the flash of frustration had passed, he felt kind of childish.

“Alright,” Dorian said carefully. “Well, if I find anything I’ll make sure to let you know. What’s your number?”

Exchanging numbers felt awkward in its belatedness. Two years too late.

It wasn’t as if the hook-up had ended awkwardly. Contrary to the vague tension Sebastian felt as he punched his phone number into Dorian’s phone, it was fine. They had a good time together.

Sebastian remembered, two years ago, waking up next to the woman, her face nestled against his chest with her arms and legs thrown over him. He remembered thinking she was clingy, but he wasn’t particularly bothered after the night they spent together. They had gone at it again not even an hour after Sebastian had fallen asleep, when Dorian woke up hot and needy at four in the morning, rolling Sebastian onto his back and kissing him until he woke up.

That morning, when he finally climbed out of her bed and into her living room, he had found that his phone had died overnight. He hadn’t seen the onslaught of missed calls and texts from Sam and Abigail, who had ended up staying at a motel in the city to avoid throwing Robin into a frenzy when her son didn’t return with them that night. They were  _ pissed _ , but it wasn’t something Sebastian immediately had to deal with as he lounged on Dorian’s couch, the woman in question frying the two of them bacon on the stove she had left burning all night;  _ ‘At least it was just water boiling,’ _ Dorian had laughed, as if she hadn’t narrowly burned her apartment down to get laid.

They had eaten breakfast together on her couch, sipping instant coffee and watching TV until Sebastian’s phone charged enough to call Sam. He’d found it much easier to talk to her after spending so long under her sheets with her. Dorian listened to him talk about the sci-fi novel he was reading, unsure if she was interested in the story, or just him. He’d learned she just recently moved out into her own place. She had found an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop nearby that paid just enough for her to be on her own, albeit with more struggle than she would’ve dealt with if she’d stayed with her roommate.

Two years after the hook-up, standing in the rundown farmhouse with her, Sebastian handed her phone back to her and vaguely wondered what had changed so much that she’d consider becoming a  _ farmer _ of all things. Or why she would leave the city. She’d seem set. Or at least, sure of her situation. 

“Is there dirt on my face?” Dorian asked after a moment.

“What? No. Why?”

“Oh. You keep staring at me.” She was pouting. Self conscious and looking away. 

“Sorry,” Sebastian sighed, face heating up. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing important. Really.”

“Alright.” She hobbled back over to her door. “I won’t keep you here, then. You’ve probably got stuff to do, huh?”

“I guess,” Sebastian admitted. He knew he’d end up doing what he did every day when the sun was too high and too bright, but that wasn’t something he was willing to admit out loud. He glanced at Dorian’s ankle. “Why didn’t you get that checked out at the clinic?”

Dorian paused for a moment, eyes going wide before self absently tugging at the ends of her hair. “Well. I didn’t know there was a doctor in town. But I guess that’d make sense.”

Sebastian shrugged. “You should get it checked out. My sister works there. She’ll probably do a better job than… whatever that is.”

“Oh.” Dorian glanced down at her ankle. Some of the gauze had fallen free, exposing the slight swelling. “Yeah, I’ll get it checked out.” The way she said it wasn’t entirely convincing; there was an implicit  _ later _ sloppily attached to the sentiment.

“Alright, come on,” Sebastian sighed.

“What?”

“I’ll drive you to town.”

“What?” Dorian repeated. “No, Sebastian, you don’t have to. I’ll just go tomorrow. It literally took me like, all day to walk to town and back on this stupid ankle. I just got home. And I’ve still got so much shit to do around here.”

“Exactly.” Sebastian already had his back turned, heading towards Robin’s truck. “So I’ll drive you and you get to skip the walk. You’re not gonna be able to get anything done today, anyways.”

“Oh, well I guess that makes sense.”

Sebastian’s point was only further proven when he needed to lend her a hand as she struggled to climb into the passenger seat. 

It was only a two minute drive, but the silence between them made Sebastian feel the need to drive into a ditch. Dorian was sitting there, picking at her nails and looking out the window while Sebastian idly flickered through radio channels. He could tell she was thinking about something, but it wasn’t until they got into town did she finally say anything.

“So like,” she started, “this doesn’t have to be weird. Between us.”

“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked, knowing exactly what she meant.

“I’m not gonna run off and tell everyone we fucked, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The admission came out all at once, in a single exhale. “I’m not like that.”

“I didn’t think you were.” Sebastian looked disgruntled. Dorian wondered if she’d just made the situation worse. 

“I’m just letting you know,” she said, unable to keep eye contact. “I don’t, like, have any kind of expectations either. Like, it happened and we had fun and then we moved on. No one even has to know we know each other.”

Silence passed between them as Sebastian registered what she was saying. Her words left something cold sitting in the pit of his stomach, but he didn’t have a word for it. Or the energy to acknowledge it. Dorian was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, her brows dipped with worry. It wasn’t until she placed her hand on the door handle did he realize she was planning her escape route.

“Alright,” Sebastian finally said. “It’s in the past.”

Somehow the admission didn’t offer Sebastian any relief. But it was a problem for another day.

Dorian exhaled softly before throwing him a slight smile. “Okay… well good.”

“Good,” Sebastian repeated. Dorian forced a laugh.

“You don’t have to wait for me, by the way,” Dorian told him as she pushed the door open. “I can probably manage on my own.”

It took all of five seconds of watching Dorian stumble out of the truck and towards the clinic door for Sebastian to decide that he’d wait for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small update.
> 
> As always, I'm on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/velveteeth) if you're ever interested in fic updates or emo boys.


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